After a while, Jian Sichun returned to the living room, her face still flushed.
She walked with a slightly awkward gait, her hands pressed against her skirt.
It seemed like she was in a very embarrassing state...
Shi Hai sat up, wanting to continue their conversation about reincarnation, but Jian Sichun was fixated on the spot where he had just been sitting.
In truth, the carpet in Shi Hai's house was dark, so unless one looked closely, it was hard to notice.
Even if one did, there was only a small stain the size of half a fist.
Jian Sichun didn't know why she felt so ashamed.
She had done more embarrassing things before... but now, in front of Shi Hai from the past, she felt a resurgence of her long-lost girlish shame.
"We need to clean the carpet!" she exclaimed.
With that, Jian Sichun knelt down and started to pull at the edge of the carpet.
But given her current state, it was difficult to exert force without risking exposure.
She urged Shi Hai to help her.
"Don't just stand there! Help me!"
"It's just a little wet. We can wipe it clean; there's no need to wash the whole carpet..."
It was mainly because Shi Hai found it troublesome.
He hated dealing with such bothersome tasks and preferred to avoid unnecessary effort.
"Besides, you said it didn't have a smell, right? I didn't smell anything either."
Jian Sichun glared at him.
"That doesn't matter! I'll keep thinking about it! We have to clean it right away!"
The timid demeanor she had shown earlier vanished.
It seemed that when it came to her dignity as a girl, Jian Sichun could become quite forceful.
In the end, Shi Hai helped her move the coffee table and the low table.
Jian Sichun expertly rolled up the carpet and took it to the bathroom.
However, the washing machine at Shi Hai's house couldn't handle such a large item.
"So we have to wash it by hand..."
Without hesitation, Jian Sichun started filling a basin with water.
Shi Hai followed her to the bathroom door, finding it amusing that Jian Sichun was seriously about to wash the carpet on the spot.
"Hahaha~~"
"What's so funny! This is more embarrassing than wetting the bed as a kid!"
Jian Sichun was annoyed.
Shi Hai laughed even harder.
"Hahahaha~~ Isn't it funny?"
Shi Hai leaned against the door frame, arms crossed.
"Generally, when people come back to life, they try to erase their embarrassing histories. But you, on your first day back, created a brand new embarrassing history..."
"I didn't want to! Who told you to scare me..."
Jian Sichun was genuinely frightened.
After all, she had planned to keep the fact that she was reborn a secret until her death...
But it was exposed on the first day.
How was the plot supposed to progress now?
"Think positively. At least you don't have to take this secret to your grave, right?"
"Is that really a good thing..."
"Of course. Having a secret you can't tell anyone is a heavy burden."
"Ah..."
Indeed, keeping a secret is difficult.
Especially when it means hiding something from the most important person in your life...
In her previous life, she had never hidden anything from him, but in this life, a barrier had arisen because of her reincarnation.
This felt like a regression.
Thinking this, Jian Sichun blinked and murmured.
"It is a good thing..."
Her mood shifted, and she smiled warmly at Shi Hai.
"So, in the end, I still can't keep any secrets from you..."
This girl is really adorable.
Shi Hai spread his hands and asked.
"So, are you going to tell me everything?"
"No..."
Although Shi Hai now knew about her reincarnation, Jian Sichun still couldn't speak about his future fate.
Shi Hai nodded and continued.
"So there are still things you can't tell me."
"Mm..."
"I see. I'll just ask some questions. If you can answer, answer. If you can't, just stay silent."
"Okay."
"First... are you really reincarnated?"
"Eh?!"
Jian Sichun was stunned.
Hadn't they just confirmed this? Why ask again?
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not being stupid. There's another possibility that you just think you're reincarnated."
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe it's all just your imagination. Some people with vivid imaginations can envision the entire process of meeting, dating, marrying, and growing old together the moment they encounter someone..."
"That's too imaginative!"
"But there really are people like that, right? So maybe you're actually a delusional stalker who's brainwashed yourself into believing you're a 'reincarnator'..."
"I told you, I'm neither delusional nor a stalker!"
Jian Sichun raised her hands in protest.
Since the reincarnation issue had already been revealed, she couldn't let Shi Hai label her as a 'delusional' or a 'stalker.'
Shi Hai shrugged and continued.
"Don't get so worked up, I'm just making a hypothesis... If you really are reincarnated, why do you think you were reincarnated?"
"That..."
Jian Sichun couldn't answer that question.
"Although many reincarnation novels don't delve into that because the 'point' isn't there, every time I read one, I can't help but wonder 'why does the protagonist reincarnate.'"
"But in those novels, the reason for reincarnation is often glossed over as 'an inexplicable phenomenon,' since the main point is just to give the protagonist the 'foreknowledge' and 'prophetic wisdom' cheat."
"So, the reason is always glossed over as 'an inexplicable phenomenon.'"
"Yes, but now this has actually happened to you. Aren't you even a little curious about it?"
"But even if I am, what can I do about it? I'm already back in the past..."
"There are still ways to analyze it. Let me ask, did you encounter any accidents in the future?"
"No..."
"So, your case isn't about dying and then being reborn in the past; you just inexplicably traveled back."
"I guess so?"
"Then where do your last memories stop?"
"In a room."
To be precise, in Shi Hai's house. Crying her eyes out, and then a hazy consciousness.
"You closed your eyes and when you opened them, you were back in the past?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"That's quite mysterious..."
Shi Hai was deep in thought.
It sounded no different from the typical opening of a reincarnation novel.
"What year did you come back from?"
"2021, I think..."
"Why the uncertain tone?"
"Uh, because I never checked the calendar..."
Jian Sichun couldn't recall clearly.
She just remembered it was December and it seemed like the end of the year, but she wasn't sure if it was already 2022.
Probably not?
After all, she had shut herself in her room without eating or drinking, so it couldn't have been more than a few days.
Wait, did she actually die?! That couldn't be, right?
Actually, at that time, Shi Hai's mom had been bringing her food and water every day, often coming to console her, afraid she might do something extreme out of grief.
But Jian Sichun never ate...
Still, before she could starve to death, Shi Hai's mom would have dragged her out of the room...
"So, roughly 9 years later... That's quite a vague number. Not long, but not short either."
"Yeah, both long and short..."
Jian Sichun spoke with contradictory emotions, feelings no one could truly understand.
Those were the most precious days of her life.
She had thought those days would last forever...
Shi Hai, however, didn't care about her feelings. Instead, he tactlessly asked.
"So, technically, you're already 30 years old?"
"What?!"
Shi Hai rubbed his chin and asked Jian Sichun.
"Hmm... Should I call you... Auntie?"
"Don't call me Auntie!!!"
Sichun's elder sister act broke down instantly.
The beautiful memories shattered like glass.
Jian Sichun suddenly felt an urge to strangle this man.
How did she ever fall in love with this obsidian-headed fool?!
<+>
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